RUI: An Improved Measurement of the Electron-Antineutrino Correlation in Free Neutron Decay

RUI：自由中子衰变中电子-反中微子相关性的改进测量

• 批准号: 0653543
• 负责人: Alexander Komives
• 金额: $ 10.28万
• 依托单位: DePauw University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2010-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0653543&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Improved; Measurement; Electron; Antineutrino

The electroweak standard model describes two of the four fundamental forces present in the universe. By conducting experiments that probe with increasing sensitivity phenomena that can be described with this model, it is hoped discrepancies will appear that will lead to a more complete understanding of the weak interaction. This interaction is responsible for the decay, or transformation, of the neutron into a proton, electron and antineutrino. By studying the correlations between the properties of the neutron and its decay products, more precise tests of the electroweak standard model can be performed. One of these correlations, know as little "a", involves the direction of emission of the electron and antineutrino from the decay region. Other neutron decay correlations are known to within 1%, but little "a" is only known to 4%. The aCORN, "a" CORrelation in Neutron decay, collaboration is in the process of building an apparatus that hopes to provide a 1%, if not better, measurement of "a" using a method that bypasses some of the problems inherent in previous experiments. The apparatus will be tested at the Low Energy Neutron Source (LENS) at Indiana University and then moved to NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology) where there is a neutron source strong enough to perform the measurement. This grant supports the contributions of the aCORN collaborators from the DePauw University Nuclear Physics group, including undergraduate researchers. As such, in addition to increasing what is known about the weak interaction, these efforts will also provide an opportunity for undergraduate researchers to experience firsthand how research is conducted, and to acquire a set of general critical thinking skills that will serve them well the rest of their lives.

弱电标准模型描述了宇宙中存在的四种基本力中的两种。通过进行实验，探索可以用这个模型描述的灵敏度越来越高的现象，希望会出现差异，从而导致对弱相互作用的更完整的理解。这种相互作用是中子衰变或转变为质子、电子和反中微子的原因。通过研究中子及其衰变产物的性质之间的关联，可以对弱电标准模型进行更精确的测试。其中一个被称为“a”的关联，涉及衰变区电子和反中微子的发射方向。已知的其他中子衰变关联性在1%以内，但很少有人知道“a”只有4%。橡子，中子衰变中的“a”关联，合作正在建造一台仪器，希望提供1%的“a”测量，如果不是更好的话，使用一种绕过以前实验中固有的一些问题的方法。该仪器将在印第安纳大学的低能中子源(LENS)进行测试，然后转移到NIST(美国国家科学技术研究所)，那里有一个足够强大的中子源来进行测量。这笔赠款支持来自DePauw大学核物理小组的橡子合作者的贡献，包括本科生研究人员。因此，除了增加对弱相互作用的了解外，这些努力还将为本科生研究人员提供一个机会，亲身体验研究是如何进行的，并获得一套通用的批判性思维技能，这些技能将在他们的余生中很好地服务于他们。